B.C.’s first non-Caucasian nurse blazed trails everywhere she went

St. Paul’s first non-Caucasian nurse, Dorothy Nakamachi, was admitted in 1937 and went on to nurse in internment camps in BC during WWII. She died in 2010 at the age of 91.TBA
/ PROVINCE

May 22 2012 -- These are photos of St. Paul's first non-Caucasian nurse admitted to the nursing school. Dorothy Nakamachi, a Japanese-Canadian woman was admitted in 1937 and went on to nurse in internment camps in BC during WWII. She died in 2010 at the age of 91. These are pics from her past. For use with her profile piece in the history section. Submitted photo: family. For a story by Elaine O'Connor.TBA
/ PROVINCE

May 22 2012 -- This is a submitted photo of Akiko Dorothy Nakamachi, the first non-white woman to graduate as a nurse in BC, after entering St. Paul's nursing school in 1937. She died in may 2010 at the age of 91. Submitted photo: family, funeral home. For a story by Elaine O'Connor.TBA
/ PROVINCE

In 1937, Dorothy Nakamachi became the first non-Caucasian to be admitted to the nursing school at St. Paul’s, but it wasn’t long before she was registered and interned along with other Japanese-Canadians during the Second World War.TBA
/ PROVINCE

The Japanese-Canadian trailblazer has been lauded as the first non-Caucasian woman in B.C. to graduate as a nurse. But during her 91 years, the pioneering St. Paul’s nursing school student would repeatedly break new ground.

Her passion for pushing boundaries would lead her, before her death in 2010, to set foot on every continent on Earth except for Antarctica.

“She loved her job,” recalls her nephew, Koji Nakamachi, a teacher in Toronto well versed in his aunt’s past. “She was gregarious and adventuresome. She went all the way around the world all by herself. She was pretty determined and very outgoing and she loved to tell stories.”

Her own story began in the early 1900s in Vancouver’s Japantown, where her parents settled after her father, Gunji, immigrated from Shiiya-machi prefecture in 1906. Her mother, Yukino, came from Fukuoka prefecture in 1909. In Vancouver they ran a photography studio, and Dorothy, the eldest of five, was born in 1918. She was ambitious and thought about going into business, but her doctor urged her to try nursing.

However, B.C.’s nursing school at St. Paul’s wasn’t accepting “Orientals” at the time, so she planned to study in Alberta. When her church priest, Father Benedict Quigley, heard this, he was appalled and interceded on her behalf.

In 1937, according to St. Paul’s records, Nakamachi became the first non-Caucasian student admitted and she later graduated and practised there as a nurse.

“I only heard positive things about her time at St. Paul’s,” her nephew said. “She said the nuns were always very gracious.”

But her nephew also recalls she wasn’t the only one -- her friend, Noriko Yamanaka, was also admitted that year and became a nurse.

What is clear is that Nakamachi’s time at St. Paul’s was short. The Second World War broke out and racist attitudes and wartime paranoia led to the creation of internment camps for Japanese Canadians,

Nakamachi was destined for Kaslo, but her father, ill with tuberculosis, and family were going to Greenwood. With help from Father Benedict Quigley, she went there too, nursing more than 1,000 detainees.

Jan Saunders, a retired St. Paul’s nurse and hospital archive volunteer, recalls staff were distressed their nurse was being forced to leave.

“They fought hard to keep her here,” Saunders recalled. “The sisters thought it was atrocious that she had to be relocated when she had grown up here in Vancouver.”

But Nakamachi made the best of it and took charge of health care in the exiled community, setting up a maternity ward and medicine dispensary and training other young Japanese-Canadian women to assist her with patients.

“My aunt was pretty assertive,” her nephew recalls.

The war interrupted her career and her personal life. Her love interest was sent to a different camp. They lost touch. She never married.

In her journals, Nakamachi described this turbulent time:

“The bombing of Pearl Harbour on Sunday, Dec 7, 1941 changed our lives,” she wrote. “This was the beginning of the years of disruption, uncertainty and hardship. For the next few years our lives were on hold, unable to go forward or plan our futures. The flashback memories of these five years are like a kaleidoscope of so many scenes – happy, sad, funny, poignant, fearful, courageous, bitter, angry and even thankful.”

Once the war ended, the family abandoned the province where they had been treated so badly and settled in Toronto. Nakamachi got a job at the Toronto Hospital nursing TB patients in 1946, later taking courses at the University of Toronto and pursuing a career in public health. She rose to become the first female Japanese-Canadian district supervisor of public health for North York, Ont.

“All the way along, she was a first here and a first there, because there weren’t many Japanese nurses,” says her nephew.

Throughout her life, Nakamachi battled health obstacles. She contracted tuberculosis early on andbattled it again in Toronto, needing surgery to have ribs removed and her lung partially collapsed. A car accident in 1968 led to surgery on her legs and limited her mobility.

But nothing stopped her love of adventure. Nakamachi drove across Canada and the U.S., spent months in Japan, travelled to Africa, Australia, the Nordic countries and South America, and toured all over Europe -- at one point even wrangling her way past shady border guards to get a glimpse of Egypt.

In her diary, Nakamachi, then 88, looked back on her past and concluded she’d “had a good life.”

“When I look back over the years I can say I have had a good life. During these 88 years, I have lived a fulfilling life, grateful for all the good things and many trials and challenges along the way which made my life more interesting. I believe that these up and down times made my life worthwhile and helped to shape me as I am,” she wrote.

His aunt’s story and place in B.C. history has been an inspiration for Koji Nakamachi and his family.

It has taught him, he said, “Never give up. Don’t let other people dictate who you are going to be or what you are going to do, and just enjoy life.”

“I’m pretty proud,” he continued. “We always knew she was special. We knew she was a trailblazer.”

Coquitlam RCMP say believe speed was a contributing factor in the accident which occurred around 1 a...

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.